by Haley Ryan
It was meant as a peace offering, but her expression froze over. “The next queen shouldn’t need help to understand her own people,” she said flatly. “This is a mistake. And hopefully, before too long, everyone else will be able to see it too.”
She turned on her heel, but before she could leave, I was struck by a sudden inspiration.
“Hey, before you go, can you tell me where that crazy hot fae emissary is staying?” I grinned and cocked my head, and, sure enough, she took the bait.
The grimace of disgust that crossed her features lasted only for an instant.
“I do, actually,” she said, “but I’m afraid I have an appointment just now. Maybe tonight? If you don’t mind waiting, I’ll be happy to play tour guide to all the men around here who are single and worth your time. And the fae, if you still think it’s worth risking a diplomatic incident over an illicit fling.” The smile that followed was almost friendly. Which meant she now had a dastardly plan and was relying on me to ruin myself to prove her point.
That was fine with me.
“Sounds like fun!” I said, dismissing her with a wave and a smile.
She threw me one last look over her shoulder—as if not quite believing I was real—before disappearing down the beige-carpeted hallway.
I followed, ready to explore my new surroundings, but I didn’t get far. At the end of the hallway were two men wearing casual suits, with postures and expressions that screamed, “We’re here to ruin your fun.”
I took an experimental step past them into the foyer.
“I’m sorry, Lady Kirasha.” One of them stepped between me freedom. “But our orders are that you have an escort before entering the other areas of the enclave.”
“You mean all areas other than my room?” I queried, a little incredulously.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And how do I go about getting one of these escorts?”
“We’ll alert Callum and make him aware of your request.”
Okay, that was good to know. Couldn’t go out this way unless I wanted Callum to be aware of what I was doing.
“Then would you be so kind as to ‘alert’ him for me?”
While they made the call, I was allowed to sit on one of the not-quite-comfortable couches on the landing and watch my surroundings curiously. I saw a few other people in the foyer on the first floor, all adults, but no one seemed to be wandering around on my level where I could stop them or annoy them with questions.
Fortunately for everyone—considering what I get up to when I’m bored—Declan came strolling up the stairs only a few minutes later.
“Kira! How are you feeling?”
“Trapped,” I said, knowing he would figure it out anyway. “Not sure I’m a fan of this bodyguard nonsense.”
“It’s just until you get your bearings around here,” he told me, “and until everyone knows who you are. Mom doesn’t want any incidents.”
“What kinds of incidents are likely?” I asked, eyebrows raised. “Do dragons have a bullying problem?” Now I was beginning to wonder how Skye had sneaked past my guards to introduce herself.
“No, but there are some who might see you as a potential challenge,” Declan said, gesturing for me to precede him down the stairs towards the doors.
“What kind of a challenge?”
“Most of us grow up tussling with one another, whether in human form or dragon. And challenges are pretty common—at least the informal kind. They help us train for battle and blow off steam. Inside the enclave, you’ll find there’s a sort of unspoken pecking order, and no one wants to be at the bottom. Some of the weaker dragons might see you and think you’d be a quick path to a higher place in that order.”
I stopped and turned to stare at him. “And you’re just telling me this now?”
He seemed perplexed by my outrage.
“Declan, humans don’t challenge each other to fights for supremacy.” Well, they did, sort of, but most of them didn’t do it through actual physical confrontation. They were more… creative. “Basically, you’re telling me you all have dominance fights, and you just brought me in here with a shiny new title and no way to defend it.”
He smiled as though I’d said something funny. “Kira, no one is going to let you get into an actual fight until you know us a little better. You can always turn down the informal challenges, no matter what they want to say about your reasons, and there are serious consequences for issuing a formal challenge to a member of the royal family. I can’t imagine anyone being crazy enough to risk it. I think Mom is just worried there could be misunderstandings if you don’t know how to respond to everyone’s enthusiasm.”
But did Mom know there were already misunderstandings? That I was already creating resentment just by existing? If the rumor mill had brought Skye to my door that quickly, there was no way she was the only one to be made aware of my existence and my position. No way she was the only one who thought I was a pretentious human upstart who didn’t deserve to be here.
Despite Declan’s reassurances, I would have to watch my back. The other dragons might not be willing to risk Lady Tairen’s wrath by damaging me, but I had no doubt they would be delighted to “introduce me” to dragon culture in the most terrifying way possible.
Declan spent the rest of the day showing me around Riverhaven, and I could admit to some wistful emotions as I realized what a fabulous place it would have been to grow up.
The community was small but tight-knit—everyone seemed to know everyone else—and the surroundings were beautiful. The houses were neatly organized, none too close to its neighbors, surrounded by pine trees and well-kept common areas. Pretty much anything the dragons needed could be found on the property, from clothing stores to ice cream to a constant water source. And if that weren’t enough, the weather was mild, and there was plenty of room for flying with no need to worry about human interference.
Declan introduced me to a few other dragons—all of whom were polite but cautious—then returned me to my room after a delicious dinner at one of the four restaurants on enclave property.
I could say without hesitation that it had been a fun day. And by the end of it, my wistfulness extended to the family I’d never had a chance to know. Declan was the kind of brother I would have imagined for myself if I could have invented an ideal—kind, smart, funny, and insightful. He asked good questions and never hesitated to answer mine. I knew by the end of the day that he served as one of Lady Tairen’s advisors, but preferred to stay largely inactive in politics outside of the enclave. He didn’t have a girlfriend but definitely wouldn’t mind dating, though I got the impression that being an empath would make that kind of relationship difficult at best.
Declan would always know what his significant other was feeling, and any kind of conflict brought him pain. But he was also warm and generous, and I had difficulty imagining anyone being good enough for him.
As a sister who was quickly developing protective feelings of my own, I wished I could spare him what was coming. My presence here was likely to generate a great deal of conflict on multiple fronts. But when my family seemed determined to direct me down a specific path without considering my wishes, conflict was inevitable, whether I wanted it or not. I could only hope Declan would forgive me for it in the end.
It was nearly full dark by the time I told Declan goodnight and settled in to wait for Skye, watching impatiently through my window as the shadows deepened and the stars appeared.
My cousin arrived promptly at nine and looked me up and down before nodding as if satisfied by my appearance. I’d changed into darker clothing and a lovely, warm pair of boots, anticipating that it might be colder outside than I was used to.
“We’re going to have to sneak past your guards,” she said, as if this were a normal, everyday occurrence. “If you’re still set on flirting with the fae, he’s in the south wing of the Lodge. I suggest we use the old fire exits and go around the outside.”
“Lead on, oh intrepid one,
” I intoned, waving an arm dramatically.
Her confused look made me want to laugh, but Skye didn’t seem like the kind of person who could handle being laughed at.
“You really are strange, even for a human,” she informed me.
“It’s the books,” I said with a shrug. “When you’re raised surrounded by words, you tend to absorb some of the weirder ones.”
This did not make her noticeably less confused.
“Whatever. Just stick close to me and try not to get lost. Sometimes there are monsters in the dark.” Her toothy smile told me she’d probably planned for me to both get lost and meet some monsters. Sadly for her, I’d already met plenty of monsters in my life, both human-shaped and not. I doubted her efforts would impress me.
So I followed her out of my room and down the hall to a locked door, for which she magically produced a key—the fire exit. Locked, I assumed, for security purposes. Or maybe because dragons didn’t exactly need fire exits.
We went down the stairs and through another door to the outside, where I shivered a little, not because it was cold but because it was gorgeous. The air was crisp, the night was deep, and the pinpoint lights of the stars glimmered brightly overhead, dimmed only slightly by a rising silver moon.
Skye seemed to know exactly where she was going—down a sidewalk, past the central hub of the Lodge, to the south wing. Once there, we made our way in the same way we’d come out—through a locked door that led to obviously unused stairs. We went up to the second floor, and she peeked her head out slowly before entering the hallway and motioning for me to follow. Three doors down, she stopped and pointed.
“That’s his room,” she whispered. “If you’ve actually got the guts to go through with this.”
I bit back a laugh. “I had no idea dragons were so terrified of fae,” I whispered back. “Or is it just the idea of flirting with them that scandalizes you?”
She smirked. “I’ve got a bet going that says he won’t give you the time of day, so try not to disappoint me.”
Oh, so that was it. Not only was she talking about me behind my back, she was thinking she’d make a little money on the side by predicting that I would make a fool of myself. And if she lost, she would have the scandal of my “illicit liaison” to fall back on for entertainment.
I could see this was going to be a very special relationship.
And to be honest, I wasn’t sure which way my meeting with Draven was likely to go. Now that I was about to confront him again, I was feeling more nervous than angry. Would he slam the door in my face? Treat me to another demonstration of icy distance? Or would I finally get an explanation for everything he hadn’t said or done since we last met?
But I wouldn’t find out by cowering in the hallway.
Ignoring Skye’s look of sly anticipation, I crossed the half dozen steps between me and the door and knocked. Too quietly. It would look to Skye like I wasn’t sure of my welcome either, so I immediately knocked again, this time as hard as I could, using my balled-up fist.
Let him try to ignore that.
My hand was still in the air when the door jerked open.
And then my brain temporarily stopped functioning.
Apparently, Draven had just finished showering, because he stood in the open doorway, shirtless and barefoot, with still-damp hair and a towel in one hand.
I’d meant to flirt with him a little, to convince Skye that this was exactly what she thought it was—my desperate attempt to get the attention of a hot but forbidden stranger.
Unfortunately, my body just wasn’t cooperating. I couldn’t move or come up with a single clever thing to say. All I could think of was how much I’d missed him. How hurt I’d been by his silence. And how very badly he seemed to be reacting to the sight of me.
“Why are you here?” His voice was cold, his eyes even colder.
Really? After everything we’d gone through together, this was his only greeting?
I felt the sting of unwanted tears—hurt mingled with rage, in equal parts. Irrationally, I wanted to hurt him back, but had no idea how.
So I straightened my spine and smiled like nothing in the world was wrong. “Room service,” I said brightly, looking him dead in the eye. “Are you finished with that towel?”
I heard a gasp from Skye. Hopefully, I’d shocked her. It might be the only satisfaction I could derive from this situation, because it was beginning to look like she was going to win her bet.
“No?”
He was still staring at me in silence, and I couldn’t read him. Time for a retreat. A deeply humiliating retreat.
“Let me know if you change your mind,” I said, pinning my emotions back behind a smile that I knew had to be more of a grimace. “I’ll be here all week.”
I turned. Ready to face my humiliation.
His hand shot out, caught my wrist, and yanked me through the door.
Seven
I didn’t think anything could be more embarrassing than standing in that hallway, knowing Skye was watching and laughing at me.
I was wrong.
When I basically tripped through the doorway into Draven’s room, I collided with his bare chest and would have stumbled if I hadn’t grabbed his shoulders—a classic, eye-roll-inducing, damsel-in-distress move. Except he really had taken me by surprise. And I wasn’t actually pretending.
Okay, so maybe I didn’t pick myself up as quickly as I could have. His shoulders were, quite frankly, perfect, and I hadn’t seen them in months.
But it was still a humiliating way to fall back into his life, so I eventually pulled myself together, with no help at all from Draven. He stood there like a lump while I got my feet under me and shoved myself away from him. Hard.
My foolish dreams of our reunion had featured numerous iterations of me throwing myself into his arms, a fantasy that was obviously going to stay just that. If he were any less pleased to see me, he might have called for an exterminator. There would be no arms, and no throwing, unless I elected to throw something heavy at his head for being so stupidly stoic when I needed to yell at him.
With all that firmly in mind, I took two steps back, crossed my arms to keep them from doing anything I would regret, and glared.
He was in the process of shutting the door, so he wasn’t able to appreciate the full effect.
“Hello to you too.” I tried to match his icy tone, but I think all I managed was sarcastic.
He just looked at me oddly and jerked his head to the side, then pointed to his ear and mimed zipping his mouth shut.
What in the name of all Idria was his problem?
When I clearly didn’t get it, he scrubbed his hands through his hair and glanced around the room. Apparently, he didn’t see what he was looking for, because he walked over to the window. Looked up, looked down, then opened it, and stepped up into the opening like he was going to jump.
He turned back to me, eyebrows raised, and then… he was gone.
I raced to the window, horrified, just as his wide, dark-feathered wings unfurled from his shoulders, and he shot up into the night sky. Either he was just that desperate to get away from me, or…
It didn’t matter. There was no way I was letting him go that easily, so, while muttering all the words my aunt would never let me say, I stripped off my clothes and shifted faster than I’d ever managed before. Bounded onto the windowsill and took off after him.
We flew towards the mountains, well away from the enclave, and while I could have flown faster, I still wasn’t quite sure whether I was following or chasing. Eventually, Draven banked downwards, into a slow dive that ended on a rocky outcropping overlooking the river.
I landed a ways behind him, tucked in my wings, and waited.
And waited. After several minutes, he turned to face me, let out a sigh that was almost a groan, and folded his arms across his chest.
I sighed too, but mostly because I’d missed that chest and hated to see it covered up.
“What do you want m
e to say, Kira?”
I may have lost my temper a little. “Oh, I don’t know,” I snarled sarcastically. “How about ‘Hi, how have you been?’ Or I would even settle for a ‘Sorry I lied.’ You could try ‘Lost your number,’ and if that doesn’t work, maybe just explain how your father knew exactly where to send a summons ordering me to appear at the Fae Court to answer questions about Llyr’s death!”
Probably a good thing we were well away from the enclave, because I was shouting by the end.
“That wasn’t me,” Draven said quietly. “I tried to put a stop to it. Tried to convince them you were nothing and no one.”
That might not have hurt so much if I hadn’t wondered whether that was exactly how he saw me.
“And you couldn’t have sent a warning?”
“Things at court are... complicated,” he said, sounding frustrated and tired. I wished I could see his face, but the moonlight wasn’t bright enough. “My father took Llyr’s treason even harder than Llyr’s death. He’s gotten increasingly paranoid and controlling, and now I think he’s wondering whether he can trust anyone. Anyone except Rath and me, and we’re being kept under near-constant watch.”
“Is that why you took Dathair’s name? Because he’s using you to do his dirty work now?”
His eyes sparked silver, as though I’d finally struck a nerve. “He’s always used me to do his dirty work. The only difference is, now I’m doing it officially.” His tone was bitter.
“You don’t sound happy about the change.”
The abrupt shift in his posture suggested that his feelings on the matter would best be expressed in language inappropriate for children.
“It’s just another leash.”
“And the Lord Elduvar bit?”
“A target on my back. The queen hates me more than ever, and because Rath isn’t backing down from his alliance with me, she has him in her sights as well. It’s become a full-time job keeping his back un-stabbed.”
I understood that. I really did, and I liked Rath too, so I was glad he was undamaged, but still…